Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire – Ontic, a leading manufacturer of civil and military aircraft parts, has successfully transformed its tool management processes by implementing KIT, a digital tool control and asset management system. The move has improved visibility, audit performance and accountability across its UK operations, supporting efficiency and customer confidence.
With more than 7,000 customers worldwide, nine manufacturing facilities and a portfolio of over 8,000 products containing more than one million component parts, Ontic relies on effective tool management to maintain quality, compliance and productivity. As the business grew, managing thousands of tools across multiple sites using a paper-based system increasingly limited visibility and control.
Ontic identified the need for a simpler, more reliable approach that would help teams understand where tools were located, who was using them, and when action was required. The goal was to reduce the risk of lost tools, avoid unnecessary duplicate purchases and improve audit performance across shared and communal toolboxes.
Following an evaluation of several systems, Ontic selected KIT for its simplicity, flexibility and scalability. The company began with a trial in a single area, where early adoption was driven by a proactive cell manager. Progress quickly accelerated as the benefits became clear, leading to wider rollout across multiple toolboxes and sites.
KIT’s intuitive interface, digital audits, clear dashboards and simple reporting tools enabled Ontic to gain real-time visibility of its tooling estate. Technicians and managers could quickly identify missing or broken tools, take ownership of issues and resolve them more efficiently.
Since implementing KIT, Ontic has achieved measurable improvements. Around 95 percent of toolboxes are now digitised and audited using the system, significantly strengthening traceability and accountability. The business has also reduced tool losses and duplicate purchases, while audit compliance and technician ownership have improved. During customer visits, the increased visibility and organisation of tools has reinforced confidence in Ontic’s operational standards.
Paul Bates, Production Engineer at Ontic, said: “The visibility KIT gives us is a game-changer. We know the location of all our tools, who they’re being used by and where some may need attention. The simplicity of the system and visibility at all levels ensures issues are resolved quickly, improving efficiency and reducing technicians’ frustration.”
Paul Mazaher, Managing Director of Coplan, said: “It’s great working with customers like Paul and the team at Ontic. They adopted KIT and realised they wanted more flexibility in auditing tools. We discussed ideas together and developed functionality that met their needs whilst maintaining the simplicity of the system. This innovation makes audits quicker and easier than before and introduces audit controls that flex with their working patterns, helping manufacturers achieve the clarity and efficiency they want.”
By replacing paper-based processes with a centralised digital system, Ontic has strengthened control, reduced risk and created a more efficient and accountable approach to managing tools and assets across its operations.
For more information on this project, visit: https://thisiskit.com/making-tool-management-simple-ontics-experience-with-kit/
